Selective Amnesia

Published: Thali review in Marie Claire.

Madrasi Sappadu, Copper Point, GRT Grand Hotel.

The conscientious food reviewer in Chennai faces a dilemma. This is more so, when the reviewer is asked to describe that perfect thali. The dilemma is this: stay true to local cuisine and traditions and thus perpetuate the myth that Chennai is all about Sambar and Rasam, or truly describe the range and scope of the city’s cuisine, and talk about the Bombay, Rajasthani, Gujarati and other regional cuisines at the expense of Madras’ own.

Which is why, the last month saw me walking in and out of Chennai’s many restaurants, the walking out bit always a little more ponderous yet a gleam of satisfaction in the eyes. (By the way, if the news reports from this part of the country talk about the death of recession and a sudden increase in obesity among 25 year olds, you know who to blame: Marie Claire.)

The south Indian vegetarian thali appears, at the surface, very simple and almost plain in comparison to its northern cousin. But dig in and you are blessed with textures and flavours so different and so special.

The Madrasi Sappadu at the Copper Point is a case in example.

When I walked into the restaurant (It lives up to its name – earthy, metallic colours throughout, with a large copper urn centrepiece, and metallic plaques all around with bas-relief depictions of the cooking utensils favoured in this part of the world.) I am greeted by the Maitre ‘d and shown to a table in a corner. A welcome drink – salted and spiced butter milk – is the first to arrive. Followed by a basket of vadams – crispy, crunchy chips made of rice and sago.

The restaurant is quiet as it is not yet peak time. Which suits me just fine. Vazhaipoo vadai (A deep-fried snack made of lentil + banana flowers) and mint chutney next occupies my thought. In Tamil cuisine, the banana holds a special place. Almost every part of this tree is used in cooking: stems, leaves, flowers, the yet-to-ripen fruit and the ripe fruit.

As I ponder on that, the general manager and the chef come to my table and we talk about food and this particular review I am writing.

By now, my thali is ready. Today’s menu is Dosa and chutney for the bread, Coconut rice, Besi Bela Bath, Spinach+Corn kernel kootu, deep-fried potato curry, Vettha kuzhambu (a spicy sauce made from Tamarind/red pepper and select spices all cooked in Gingely oil), Sambar and Rasam.

I begin with relish. The dosa is devoured in minutes. With that out of the way I turn to the coconut rice and besi bela bath. Both live up to the high standards I set, but I do like my besi-bela a little more besi and a lot more bela.

Business can now begin in right earnest. Steamed rice comes in a large copper plated bowl, piping hot and ready to be mixed with the kuzhambu and sambar. The tamarind-y goodness of the kuzhambu makes my day. I ask for and get two extra servings of the same which goes to show the care the restaurant’s staff show for their guests. I can say with honesty that kuzhambu will henceforth be measured against the Copper Point yardstick.

The sambar and rasam are standard fare in Chennai, and one has to take extra effort to ruin it. Copper point knows its Madrasi tongue and therefore the two were about as good as they can get.

Thick, sweet curd served in a small matka can either be mixed with rice (Thayir sadam – the reason for the disproportionate number of Tam-bram students in the IITs and IIMs) and eaten along with lime pickle or just spooned into the mouth as a preliminary to the dessert.

The main part of lunch over, my plate is cleared for the sweet stuff. Up first is cold, scintillating basundi. A mouthful any day, at Copper Point it gets thicker and tastier. I didn’t much care for the dry rosogolla or the little banana provided as an aid to digestion, preferring instead to wait for the promised ice-cream.

When it came, I forgot all my earlier concerns. Friends will vouch for my expertise in ice-cream, so let me tell you that this was perhaps the best ice-cream I’ve had in the city of Chennai. Rich and creamy, with small bits of actual strawberry adding volume and texture, I could spend a whole column writing about it.

The Madrasi Sappadu at the Copper Point, GRT Grand comes to you at Rs. 475 plus taxes. Believe me you, it is worth all that and more.

(An edited version of this, along with a photo I’d shot, was published in the February issue of Marie Claire, under the title Thali-ho!